Missouri Medical Marijuana Facts

The state of Missouri has some of the harshest marijuana laws in the country. Possession of any amount of marijuana, even as little as a gram, can be punished by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Possession of over 35 grams, or about 1.25 ounces, is regarded as a felony and is subject to up to a seven-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine.

In the state of Missouri in 2007, there were 23,136 reported arrests for marijuana-related offenses. This statistic ranks Missouri at number 10 in the nation in regards to marijuana-related offenses per capita. There is an estimated 481,000 marijuana users in the state of Missouri in the calendar year of 2007.

The number of annual marijuana users in the state of Missouri decreased from 557,000 in 2003, to about 481,000 in 2007. This presented an average annualized change of nearly 3% per year. The number of monthly marijuana users decreased from 316,000 in 2003, to 267,000 in 2007, which produced an average annualized change of around 3.5%.

In terms of the overall severity for a maximum sentence involving marijuana possession, the state of Missouri ranks number six in the nation. This is based upon penalties for a first offense and not a subsequent offense. In terms of penalties for less than one ounce of marijuana, the state of Missouri ranked at around number three.